


Inextricably Bound

by TheBridgeIntoYourMind



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 17:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10858884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBridgeIntoYourMind/pseuds/TheBridgeIntoYourMind
Summary: Kylo Ren and Rey meet at a tree on Ach-To





	Inextricably Bound

**Author's Note:**

> Lol I didn't even edit this I just couldn't get the idea out of my head so enjoy this disaster.

There was something unnerving about the tree, with its bare, twisting branches. It stood in a sort of plateau among the steep, craggy hills of the island extending its gnarled hands into the vibrant orange sky, intercepting the beams of the setting sun.

                It wasn’t that Rey had much experience with trees; Jakku wasn’t exactly a fertile habitat. But from what she had seen on Takodana, of the giant trees, lush and teeming with life and vivacity, she knew something was wrong here.

                Luke said it had died years ago, struck by lightning. He told her there was no use hanging around it. But something called her to it.

                Rey stood staring at it just a couple yards back. The sun was setting, and even half way up a mountain the wind from the cold, unforgiving ocean chilled her body.

                She bit her lip and took a step forward. Then another, and another, reaching out her hand, feeling a deep, vibrating hum resonating from the tree.

                _I thought it was dead…_

Finally, her hand connected with the smooth, almost polished wood that made up its thick gray trunk. Closing her eyes, she could feel the Force through it like a power pylon, it seemed to sing in her mind and flow through her veins, completely in tune with the Force.

                Her hands searched the trunk, feeling their way about the not-quite dead lumber the way she had searched the skeletons of ships on Jakku. Smooth, monotonous. It all seemed dead, but there was something there…

                Rey stilled as her hand brushed past a break in the wood. She opened her eyes, only to find a small hollow, just big enough that she could fit her hand in. It was probably just a bird’s nest; home to one of those strange Porgs that occasionally pestered Luke for bits of bread crust. But still, she reached in.

                _I’m going to get my hand stuck, or bitten by a Porg. Or worse, stuck and repeatedly bitten by a Porg because I can’t free my hand._

Her hand deftly scanned the interior, it was deeper than she expected. She was drawing her hand back in defeat only to brush against a cold, circular piece of metal that somehow seemed to hum. She clasped it in her hand and maneuvered her fist out of the hole.

                A warped, steel gray bit of scrap metal attached to a chain. Her brow furrowed at the piece of junk. What was it doing in the tree?

                “I thought you’d left scavenging behind you when you left Jakku,” rumbled a deep voice behind her. Gritting her teeth, she turned around slowly to face the speaker.

                Kylo Ren stood before her, his long black cape fluttering behind him. His long, wavy hair framed his scarred face, his sorrowful eyes betraying his sarcastic tone.

                “And I thought you’d stay out of my head after I kicked your ass-twice,” she spat. He simply sneered.

                “Who’s to say I’m not actually here right now?” he taunted.

                Rey scoffed; “If you were actually here you’d be trying to kill me already, to fix your ego.” Kylo’s face darkened as he stepped forwards.

                “I don’t want to kill you and never have,” Kylo began. “I told you before; you need a teacher.”

                “I have a teacher!” Rey snapped.

                “That’s funny, I seem to recall Skywalker voicing his opinion regarding the fate of the Jedi. He said ‘it’s time for the Jedi to end’ did he not?” Rey was fuming.

                “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. Her grip tightened around the scrap of metal until its edges cut into her skin.

                “I’m in your head, Rey,” she shuddered at his words.

                “I know that. It’s hard to forget that someone can invade your privacy at any moment.” His shadow loomed over her as he crept closer.

                “Except that I can’t. I can only come when you call for me, whether intentional or not.”

                She spun around to face him. “You are the absolute _last_ person who I would ever want in my head!” He tilted his head, considering her.

                _Damn him._

“Would you like to see in my mind?” Kylo asked, sounding far more casual than what seemed appropriate.

                “Please,” she snarled. “I’ve been in your head before, and I’ve seen plenty. I know what kind of monster you are.” Kylo’s brow furrowed as he came even closer. Rey stepped back, stumbling until she slammed against the tree.

                Kylo looked into her eyes, their faces so close they could almost touch…

                _No!_

She didn’t want to think about that. Instead, she focused her attention on his scar. It was subtle, crossing his eyebrow but missed his eye, widening as it went down his cheek and jaw, inches away from his soft, pouting lips.

                “My offer remains,” he said, his voice low and husky. “I can show you the ways of the Force. Our destinies are intertwined, inextricably bound.”

                The spell was broken. She pushed him away with a snarl.

                “We’ll see how ‘destiny’ guides us when I kill you.”

                “Revenge isn’t the way of the Jedi, scavenger.”

                “You said it yourself; I’m no Jedi and never will be.”

                Kylo’s eyes sought hers beseechingly. “Then join me! We are bound through the Force-“

                “I don’t want the only person who doesn’t leave me to be a murderer!” Tears welled in her eyes. Kylo, understanding emotions for once, sank back as she cried.

                “Rey,” he muttered softly. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for the good of the galaxy. Under the Republic, criminals and corruption ran rampant, and not only did the Republic and the Jedi ignore it, they contributed to it. The First Order will bring peace and justice to the galaxy.”

                “And what about Han?” Even through the tears, Rey’s eyes shown with fury. “Your own father. He was unarmed, defenseless. How was that ‘for the good of the galaxy’?” Kylo looked away.

                “The Supreme Leader commanded it.”

                “And what else has the Supreme Leader commanded? What else has the supreme leader told you was for the good of the galaxy?”

                “The Supreme Leader is wise. Since childhood he has guided me away from the Light, because he knew that weakness would result in chaos.”

                _Since childhood…_

“Show me your mind.” Rey commanded, steadying her breathing. Kylo seemed caught off guard, but acquiesced nevertheless.

                He faced her, head bent downwards. Rey reached up her arms and put her finger tips on his temples, electricity buzzing through her fingertips. Leaning closer, their foreheads touched, and visions raced through her.

                Darkness and light, battling for dominance against each other. Peace, a woman’s voice, soft and singing about a mirror-bright moon. Fear, a rumbling, scratchy voice as if it hadn’t been used in a thousand years crooning stories of the Darkside as he slept. Loneliness, two voices shouting and then the sound of the Falcon flying away. Pain, Ben Solo with lightsaber burns crisscrossing his back as a man’s voice mocked him for his weakness. Regret, Han’s face, eyes wide as he brushed his hand across his son’s face one last time. Compassion, Rey saw herself, crying out in her sleep for a family that she knew would never come back.

                Rey jolted back to reality with a shock, breathing heavily. She looked up, to find that the sun had already set, and Kylo was nowhere to be found. She was vaguely aware that her hand was bleeding, the edges of the scrap metal cut deep into her hand.

                She returned to her hut, where Luke was sitting pensively next to a fire. He rose upon seeing her, and immediately enquired about her hand.

                “It’s nothing; just a cut. I’ll wash it and wrap it and it’ll be fine.” Luke frowned but said nothing.

                The scrap metal glimmered in the firelight. “Where did you find that?” Luke asked, with apprehension in his voice.

                “It was in that dead tree. It’s just scrap though, I don’t know why I even brought it back. One of the Porgs probably carried it out there.”

                “Probably,” said Luke, though he didn’t sound convinced.

                Rey retired after attending to her wounds. As she laid in bed, she fiddled with the scrap in the fading light of the fire. As she turned it, the light caught it in a way that she could just make out something engraved in it.

                “ _Mirror bright shine the moon”._


End file.
